Activities
NAMI of CI organizes and sponsors a variety of activities that are open to the public, including meetings, courses, and annual events and awards.
Meetings
NAMI of CI Monthly Educational Meetings
NAMI of CI meetings are a place to learn about current issues impacting people affected by mental illnesses and to get to know NAMI members and other attendees. Meetings often feature speakers with special knowledge about particular mental health issues. Visit our news page for upcoming topics and speakers.
Meetings are open to the public--in fact, we encourage all community members to come and learn about mental health issues.
Date: Third Tuesday of each month
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: Collegiate Presbyterian Church, Sheldon and West Streets, Ames (unless otherwise noted)
NAMI Connection Peer Support
This is a support group where people with a diagnosed mental illness can share concerns and problems with others who can relate to their situations. Free, confidential, no registration is required.
Afternoons, Every Thursday from 2:00 - 3:30 pm at Collegiate United Methodist Church, 2622 W Lincoln Way, Room 44
Evenings - Every Monday from 6:00 - 7:30 pm at Collegiate United Methodist Church, 2622 W Lincoln Way, Pine Room
Courses
NAMI of CI organizes the following free courses. Contact the NAMI of CI office or visit our news page for upcoming courses.
Wishing Wellness
A new class for children ages 6-12 who have a parent with a mental illness has been developed. This class will be taught by a child therapist using proven materials. During the class the children will have an opportunity to talk about their parent's illness and to make a plan should their parent need hospitalization. The class is designed to empower and educate the children, therefore your child needs to know that you have an illness before the classes begin.
Peer-to-Peer Education Program
Peer-to-Peer is a 9 session course for individuals with severe brain disorders. Each two-hour session is taught by a team of three trained "mentors" who are personally experienced at living well with mental illness.
Participants come away from the course with a binder of hand-out materials, as well as other tangible resources such as: an advanced directive; a relapse prevention plan; mindfulness exercises to help focus and calm thinking; and survival skills for working with providers and the general public.
Enrollment and materials for the course are free, but registration is required. Confidential.
Family-to-Family Education Program
Family-to-Family is a twelve session course for parents and other family members of adults who have mental illness. These classes focus on the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness, as well asthe knowledge and skills that family members need to cope more effectively.
Enrollment and course materials are free, but registration is required. Confidential.
Visions For Tomorrow Program
Visions For Tomorrow is a eight session course for parents and caregivers of children and adolescents with serious emotional and mental disorders. These classes give strategies for facing day-to-day challenges; teach the facts about various childhood brain disorders; and offer support, resources, and strategies to cope.
Enrollment and course materials are free, but registration is required. Confidential.
Art Therapy Group
Enhance your creative side and increase your self-awareness in a playful, non-threatening way. You do not have to be an artist to benefit from Art Therapy!
This invitation was recently given to members of the NAMI Connection Support Group. Fifteen of them responded by coming out on a frigid January afternoon to participate in the first group. Art Therapy uses creative processes such as painting, drawing, and collage making to improve emotional and mental health. This is an alternative approach to the traditional talk therapy and a way to learn and strengthen new coping skills. Art Therapy focuses on self-expression and intends to strengthen the inner self and teach participants to trust their environment. Art Therapy Group is being led by Willow McLaughlin Hill. Willow graduated from Iowa State University with a BA in Psychology and Design. She then got her Art Therapy Certificate from Grandview University in Des Moines, Iowa. Willow currently works at Candeo, a non-profit agency in Ankeny where she works with adults with mental illness to be active in their communities and progress in their recovery. We are grateful that Willow is volunteering her time to lead this group. Art Therapy Group will meet monthly through June. Call the office at 292-9400 for more information.
Annual Events and Awards
NAMI of CI stays active in the community with special events and fundraisers, such as those listed below. Visit our news page for information about current events and awards.
Annual Garage Sale
Each August, NAMI of CI holds a garage sale to raise funds for the organization. Garage sale items are donated by NAMI of CI members and other community members.
Stick Your Neck Out Awards
Each year, NAMI of CI gives Stick Your Neck Out Awards to a person or persons who have "stuck their neck out" in the name of mental illness.
